Western 05
8:45:46 PM Chance: So! Pittsburgh. 8:50:20 PM Joe: ((Yes!)) 8:56:00 PM Chance: You guys move out onto the streets! It's daytime so there's plenty of folks about. 8:59:44 PM *** Joe keeps a mental eye out for vampires. *** 9:00:34 PM Chance: Gimme a roll! 9:00:57 PM Joe: ((4.)) 9:05:27 PM Chance: You don't sense anything in your zone of effect! 9:06:50 PM *** Joe thinks at the boys: I don't sense any vampires around. *** 9:07:23 PM Chance: Just lots of people! Theo nods. "So, any idea where Harper's Park is?" 9:07:46 PM Joe: None at all. 9:08:03 PM Joe: We ought to ask a shopkeeper or a food seller. 9:20:20 PM *** Joe looks for one! *** 9:20:26 PM Chance: It doesn't take you long to find one. 9:20:33 PM Chance: You find a dry goods store! 9:20:41 PM Joe: Excuse me, could you tell me where Harper's Park is? 9:21:55 PM Chance: The old man looks at you. "Harper's Park? Don't know any place called Harper's Park, I'm afraid." 9:22:14 PM Joe: Oh dear. 9:22:22 PM *** Joe checks to make sure he's truthful. *** 9:23:10 PM Chance: Roll! 9:24:59 PM Joe: ((5!)) 9:25:43 PM Chance: He seems to be genuine! 9:26:43 PM Joe: Thank you! 9:26:55 PM *** Joe looks for someone else who looks like they've been around a while! *** 9:34:40 PM Chance: (Sorry, bathroom.)) 9:34:52 PM Chance: Okay, there's a dress shop across the way! 9:35:39 PM *** Joe tries there, too! *** 9:35:47 PM Joe: Pardon me, do you know a Harper's Park? 9:37:51 PM Chance: The young woman blinks at you. "Harper's Park? Don't know any place called Harper's Park, I'm afraid." She shakes her head, and smiles again. "Can I help you find anything?" 9:40:04 PM *** Joe checks her, too. ((9!)) *** 9:41:14 PM Chance: She is telling the truth, but her mind has been tampered with. In a minor way, but still. 9:41:45 PM *** Joe thinks at Theo and Cas: Her mind has been tampered with. *** 9:43:00 PM Chance: She looks at you expectantly! It's not a library! 9:43:43 PM *** Joe gives her a bit of money. *** 9:44:31 PM *** Joe also orders some undergarments (to be sent ahead) and pays for them. *** 9:45:03 PM Chance: ((So you just give her money, and then buy something?)) 9:46:57 PM *** Joe does. *** 9:56:28 PM *** Joe orders the underwear sent ahead, though. *** 9:59:51 PM Chance: SHe blinks at the money. "What is this for, miss?" 10:01:09 PM Joe: It's for answering my question. 10:02:19 PM Chance: "What question?" Theo looks at you, and you hear, mentally "the whole town is caught up in a glamour to disguise this place." 10:03:08 PM Joe: Oh, about the undergarments. Thank you. 10:03:18 PM *** Joe thinks at Theo and Cas: Can we break it? *** 10:04:02 PM Chance: Theo: I'll need a better look at it, but it's probably bound to the location. 10:04:42 PM *** Joe thinks: Can we find the epicenter of the spell? That's probably where we're looking for. *** 10:07:48 PM Chance: Theo: Almost certainly. 10:09:10 PM Joe: Excellent. Let's do that. 10:12:43 PM Chance: You head out back onto the street, and Theo murmurs a spell under his breath, looking around. 10:16:49 PM Chance: Theo: We're in the thick of the spell. IT's' going to make it tough to close in on its center. 10:17:32 PM Joe: Could we make it easier with sensory magic? 10:22:02 PM Chance: Theo: How so? 10:22:41 PM Joe: Make us feel colder as we get nearer to Harper's Park. Possibly just Cas, he's cold-resilient. 10:24:18 PM Chance: Theo: Possibly. That might lead to some of the same issues, though. 10:24:30 PM Chance: Gimme a roll! 10:25:05 PM Joe: Other ideas? 10:31:43 PM Chance: ((Roll?)) 10:32:06 PM Joe: ((9 again!)) 10:33:51 PM Chance: You are being scryed upon. 10:34:08 PM Joe: ... someone is scrying on us. Damnation! 10:37:37 PM Chance: Theo: Try not to react to it. Let them think we don't know. 10:38:03 PM *** Joe smiles. *** 10:38:17 PM *** Joe looks at the dresses for a moment or two. *** 10:38:30 PM Joe: I really do like red. 10:41:24 PM Chance: Theo manages to look appropriately bored! So does Cas. 6:40:40 PM Chance: So you're being scryed on. 6:41:55 PM *** Joe shops a little bit, and probably bores the boys silly. *** 6:46:47 PM Joe: I think we ought to get some tea, I'm famished. 6:47:15 PM Chance: Cas: That sounds like a very civilized idea. 6:48:19 PM Joe: How utterly unlike me! I suppose there is a first time for everything. 6:53:25 PM Joe: Truly, I am devilish hungry. 7:00:35 PM Chance: You guys make your way to a tearoom! 7:01:11 PM *** Joe orders a four-course tea. *** 7:01:23 PM *** Joe thinks: Well this is a pretty kettle of fish. What should we do? *** 7:04:22 PM | Edited 7:05:11 PM Chance: Theo: We need to figure out where the ritual is originating. That might give us a good idea of where the illusion spell is based. 7:04:42 PM Joe: But how? 7:06:12 PM Chance: Theo: Counterspell the scrying. Then perhaps you can follow the threads back to the scryer. 7:07:30 PM Joe: But then they'll truly know when we're coming. 7:12:40 PM *** Joe carries on this conversation entirely in telepathy, by the way, while prattling about London gossip in real life. *** 7:14:29 PM Chance: I figured! Theo eats finger sandwiches like an American. 7:16:04 PM *** Joe quite cheerfully follows suit, probably appalling Casper. *** 7:16:20 PM Joe: Is there a way to do it that doesn't alert them, or perhaps alerts them in the wrong direction? 7:27:44 PM Chance: Theo: ... probably. My magic tends to not be that... subtle. 7:29:27 PM Joe: Hmm. 7:32:23 PM Chance: Theo: IF I counterspell, they'd know. 7:35:39 PM Joe: Are you not an illusionist? 7:38:06 PM Chance: Theo: I have some proficiency, but not enough to deflect the attention of a scrying, which are usually cast to bypass that kind of trickery. 7:38:48 PM Joe: ... could we make them think we have deflected the attention of a scrying? 7:41:20 PM Chance: Theo: I'm not following. 7:42:49 PM Joe: Make it seem like the real images of us they get are not, in fact, real? 7:47:33 PM Chance: Theo: I don't think such an illusion would work for long.. unless I had your help in crafting it. 7:49:02 PM Joe: I can certainly try! 7:50:46 PM Joe: I have worked with other casters before, but really only my mother. 7:56:54 PM Joe: I hope you are less temperamental than he is. 7:57:33 PM Chance: Theo: ... I have been told I'm not easy to work with, but temperament is not an issue. 7:57:50 PM Joe: What do they think is? 8:04:52 PM Chance: Theo: Apparently I'm demanding. 8:05:06 PM Joe: Reeeeeeally. And what do you demand? 8:05:34 PM Chance: Theo: Nothing besides talent and intelligence. 8:07:35 PM Joe: Oh, that does not seem too difficult. Let us see what we can do. 8:18:54 PM Chance: Theo reaches out to take one of yoru hands under the table. 8:20:11 PM *** Joe squeezes his hand. *** 8:29:02 PM Chance: Theo: We'll do it right here. I'm going to create an illusion super-imposed over us, first thing. 8:30:20 PM *** Joe nods. *** 8:36:07 PM Chance: You feel the familiar tickle of magic wash over you. "Now, you find that scrying presence." 8:38:27 PM *** Joe looks for it. *** 8:39:10 PM Chance: GImme a roll! 8:39:39 PM Joe: (4. UGH.)) 8:41:27 PM Chance: That's good enough, you already sensed it. Just seeing if you rolled a 1 or a 10, mostly. You find that thread! 8:42:24 PM Joe: I have it. 8:45:27 PM Chance: Theo: All right. Now, use your powers to just brush over our thoughts, and create a simulacra of our minds where the illusions are. 8:46:30 PM *** Joe does, peering at Cas's mind and then Theo's. *** 8:49:00 PM Chance: That's easy enough! You get a good read of the general shapes of their minds, so to speak. 8:51:42 PM *** Joe makes the simulacra. *** 8:54:11 PM Chance: Gimme another roll! 8:55:25 PM Joe: ((4 again!)) 9:02:33 PM Chance: Okay! Again, that's enough, this is your area of expertise, after all. Now one final roll to tie it to Theo's magic and illusion. 9:05:45 PM Joe: ((10!! Aha!)) 9:07:18 PM Chance: Perfect! It's as if your magics were made to twine together -- the effect is seamless, almost effortless on your part. 9:10:03 PM Joe: ... there! That was rather lovely. 9:11:40 PM Chance: Theo smiles. "... very. You're... quite good, Miss." It's pretty amazing... your two spells are braided intricately together, drawing power from each other, strengtheninig each other, compensating for the other's weaknesses. 9:14:09 PM Joe: Thank you! So are you. 9:27:08 PM *** Joe squeezes his hand again. *** 9:28:47 PM Chance: He smiles, and nods. "Now. We leave, and leave the illusions here." 9:30:34 PM Joe: Right. 9:30:37 PM *** Joe heads out. *** 9:32:43 PM Chance: Theo conjures the images of other people around you three! 9:34:57 PM Joe: Now. Where are they... 9:36:51 PM Chance: Theo: Now, I'm going to counter the scrying. It it works. the sympathetic magic we forged should point at the counterspell coming from the tea room. 9:38:20 PM Joe: Excellent. 10:07:54 PM Chance: Theo closes his eyes and you feel the magic snap, like an invisble charge in the air. 10:08:55 PM Chance: He nods. "Now, see if you can track them back." 10:08:57 PM *** Joe gasps a little bit. "Oh! I say, I think it works." *** 10:12:32 PM *** Joe tries to follow the streams back! *** 10:15:05 PM Chance: Gimme another roll! 10:16:21 PM Joe: ((8!)) 10:17:30 PM Chance: You get a direction! 10:17:42 PM Joe: Come on! 10:18:02 PM *** Joe takes Theo or Cas's hand (whoever is closer) and tugs them in that direction! *** 10:22:53 PM Chance: Cas is closer! But theo follows, and you make your way to a nicer part of the city. 10:29:34 PM Chance: Eventually, you get to a dilapitaded manor house that really doesn't belong in this part of the city. It looks far too old, but no one seems to be noticing it. 10:30:25 PM Joe: ... is this house even really here, I wonder? 10:35:28 PM Chance: Theo: It is. It's just covered in illusions. 10:36:33 PM Joe: All right. What's our plan? Go in and slay? 10:41:53 PM Chance: Theo: ... good question. The house is warded, so I can't just burn it down. 10:44:31 PM Joe: I wouldn't want to. Fire catches. 10:46:26 PM Joe: How about this. I'll focus on shielding your minds along with mine, and you two will focus on the slaying. 10:48:33 PM Chance: Theo: That seems like a good plan. I think that any of his... cannon fodder will likely be asleep during the daytime. But more powerful vampires aren't always so limited. 10:48:57 PM Joe: Oh good. Let's try not to hurt anyone but the Master. Whichever one he is. 10:51:47 PM Chance: Theo: all right. 5:22:55 PM Chance: You were outside the evil house! 5:23:07 PM Joe: ... be careful. 5:23:23 PM *** Joe checks the door for magic first. *** 5:24:05 PM Chance: Oh, yeah, there is definitely magic. 5:24:36 PM *** Joe tries to figure out what kind! *** 5:27:44 PM Chance: It has several wards layered over it, non-detection, anti-scrying, hurt whoever opens it, that sort of thing. 5:29:23 PM *** Joe tries to pull off any warning wards or painful wards. *** 5:31:43 PM Chance: And yes, of coruse, there's a warning enchantment. Roll! 5:32:09 PM Joe: ((10! Hahahaha.)) 5:37:24 PM Chance: It's easy! The work is not expert or intricate, ,and you find the right thread to pull on, and it just all unravels, leaving it a normal door. 5:37:57 PM *** Joe slips inside. *** 5:44:06 PM Chance: It's dilapidated on the outside, and like a palace on the inside! It all looks brand new, and very lavish. Excessively so, by your British sensibilities. Cas and Theo slip in behind you. 5:45:24 PM *** Joe shakes her head, and starts walking through the house, taking a moment to replace her skirts with trousers magically. *** 5:45:39 PM Chance: Cas: ... very convenient. 5:46:30 PM *** Joe nods, but stays quiet! *** 5:49:14 PM *** Joe listens for anyone else moving around in the house. *** 5:49:34 PM Chance: Gimme a roll! 5:51:11 PM Joe: ((7!)) 5:51:51 PM Chance: You don't hear anyone -- it's as quiet as a mausoleum. 5:52:54 PM *** Joe thinks at the men: I don't hear anyone, do you? I don't want to check for minds because Sofia will certainly know if I do. *** 5:53:51 PM Chance: Theo listens for a moment, and shakes his head. 5:54:45 PM *** Joe thinks at both of them again: Downstairs or upstairs, do you think? It is daytime, they may mostly be sleeping. *** 5:56:22 PM Chance: Cas thinks 'Up, that's where the nicer bedrooms will be, right?" 5:56:40 PM Chance: Theo thinks "Down, it's more defensible. It makes more sense." 5:59:03 PM *** Joe thinks: Both of you make sense to me. Let's try the bedrooms first, on the basis that he wasn't nice to Sofia, so she's more likely to be in the basement with the others while the Master swans around in the swanky rooms. *** 6:00:46 PM Chance: So you move upstairs? 6:01:09 PM *** Joe does. *** 10:31:55 PM Chance: The stairs are extremely creaky. They feel like they're rotting, even though they don't look like it. The weaves a spell, and the creaking stops. 10:32:43 PM *** Joe tries to sneak! *** 10:35:02 PM Chance: You go upstairs! Gimme a roll. 10:35:45 PM Joe: ((2. Shit.)) 10:36:25 PM Chance: There is definitely a dark presence up here, some strong mind. 10:37:02 PM *** Joe starts to look, still trying to be quiet! *** 10:41:13 PM Chance: There's a hallway full of doors, that stretches..... improbably long. 10:41:35 PM *** Joe thinks at the boys: That doesn't seem real, does it? *** 10:42:17 PM Chance: Theo: It's an illusion, or it's spacial compression. 10:43:43 PM *** Joe thinks: How do you find out which? *** 10:45:04 PM Chance: Theo: ... Not in any way that won't attract attention we don't want yet. 10:46:02 PM *** Joe thinks: What would we do if it were compression? *** 10:55:35 PM Chance: Theo: Not much -- that would just mean we're dealing with a bigger house than we thought. 10:57:58 PM *** Joe thinks: And if it were illusion? *** 10:58:34 PM Chance: Theo: ... it's probably meant to confuse and confound, in that case. 10:59:53 PM *** Joe steps into it. *** 11:01:27 PM Chance: Nothing happens! 11:03:57 PM *** Joe shrugs, and starts walking. *** 11:06:57 PM Chance: All the doors are fairly identical! 11:08:51 PM *** Joe tries the first one on the left. *** 11:15:54 PM Chance: You open it! Gimme a roll. 11:20:32 PM Joe: ((2 again. Ughhh.)) 11:25:28 PM Chance: Space shifts and prespective goes out the window as you open the door and are pulled inside, and suddenly you're standing on the side of the house, but the house is suspended in a sunless void. 11:25:44 PM Chance: And the way back Is not apparent. 11:29:21 PM Joe: Damn. 11:29:32 PM *** Joe very very lightly reaches out with her mind to try to find the others. *** 11:33:00 PM Chance: They do not seem to be on the same plane as you! Not with a cursory scan. 11:34:25 PM *** Joe closes her eyes. *** 11:38:30 PM *** Joe centers herself and meditates for a moment. *** 11:39:33 PM Chance: While the void is starless, you think there's vague movement out there. 11:40:38 PM *** Joe tries to go that direction. *** 11:42:34 PM Chance: I mean like, in the 'sky' above you, It's like the movement of clouds. 11:43:55 PM Joe: ((Oh!)) 11:44:04 PM *** Joe waits, wondering if it's Theo. *** 11:44:39 PM Chance: Nope! Too big. It reminds her of clouds against a night sky. 11:45:59 PM *** Joe looks for a window. *** 11:49:10 PM Chance: You find one! You're basically on the outside of the house. You can find a window easily. 11:49:40 PM *** Joe tries to open it. *** 11:56:46 PM Chance: IT creeeks open! 11:57:20 PM *** Joe tries to step in! *** 12:04:34 AM Chance: Gimme a roll! Make it a d6 roll. 12:05:03 AM Joe: ((1. I hope low was good.)) 12:09:01 AM Chance: You find a very... shabby room. 12:09:24 AM Chance: There's no bed, but a bunch of blankets laid over the floor to 'approximate' a bed. 12:09:43 AM *** Joe frowns, and searches the place. *** 12:16:56 AM Chance: Sofia is there, sleeping in a kind of fetal position on the blankets. There's a ratty old dresser with some dead flowers in a vase, and it's all rather sad. 12:19:07 AM *** Joe tries not to wake her up, and leaves the room, trying not to lose her temper with this Master idiot. *** 12:26:40 AM *** Joe does not like the way he treats Sofia. *** 12:27:20 AM Chance: He does not treat her well! 12:28:48 AM *** Joe looks for the bastard! *** 12:29:03 AM Chance: Gimme a roll! 12:29:22 AM Joe: ((9!)) 12:29:34 AM Joe: ((I switched dice rollers. )) 12:33:48 AM Chance: You sneak out! She doesn't stir. She snores a bit. And you're back in the hallway. Cas and Theo are nowhere to be seen! 12:34:35 AM *** Joe checks the next door on the left. *** 12:36:21 AM Chance: Gimme a roll! 12:37:33 AM Joe: ((9 again!!)) 12:44:41 AM Chance: There's no displacement this time! You find an old bedroom with some corpses in the bed. 12:45:11 AM *** Joe grimaces and goes to the next room! *** 12:46:24 AM Chance: Next left door in the hallway? 12:47:01 AM Joe: ((yeah!)) 1:02:54 AM Chance: ((Ah! Sorry. Falling asleep. Let's continue tomorrow! I'm getting spacy.)) 1:03:09 AM Joe: ((Right, good call, me tooooo.)) 5:06:23 PM Chance: You were checking another door! 5:08:46 PM *** Joe checks the door~! *** 5:09:50 PM Chance: Just walking in? 5:11:52 PM *** Joe checks it for traps and magic first! *** 5:16:49 PM Chance: good call! Gimme a roll. 5:17:55 PM Joe: ((6!)) 5:18:49 PM Chance: DEfinitly all kinds of spells over the door. Or, over the hallway, which covers the doors. 5:22:27 PM *** Joe tries to pull the spells off. ((4, crap.)) *** 5:45:31 PM Chance: Stupid skype. Okay! 5:46:18 PM Joe: ((Skype is dumb!)) 6:00:54 PM Chance: There's a tangle of spells that you're not sure you can take off without setting them off or doing something unforeseen! So you choose caution. 6:01:41 PM *** Joe is cautious! She can try again if it doesn't work the first time. *** 6:09:47 PM Chance: Okay! Gimme another roll, if you want to try again! But you 6:09:55 PM Chance: BUt it's gonna be a tougher roll. 6:10:13 PM Joe: ((1. Oh dear.)) 6:17:55 PM Chance: Yeeeeah, that ain't good! There's a sense of time and space having a bit of kerfuffule around you, and you feel yourself falling forward, and a hand grabs your shoulder and yanks you back! 6:18:27 PM *** Joe gasps and tries to work out what's happening! *** 6:22:40 PM Chance: You get spun around and you're looking at Sofia! Gimme another roll. 6:23:07 PM Joe: ((5!)) 6:25:21 PM Chance: You're still in the hallway, though the door is open and seems to be looking over a desert at night, as seen from a great distance. You keep your balance, though. 6:29:57 PM *** Joe closes the door gently. *** 6:30:00 PM Joe: Sofia? 6:42:01 PM Chance: She's looking you up and down. "I know you, dont' I? You had a weird face before. But you were still pretty." 6:43:36 PM Joe: I am always pretty. 6:43:54 PM Joe: I'm here to rescue you. 6:50:17 PM Chance: Sofia: Rescue me? From what? 6:50:32 PM | Edited 6:50:57 PM Chance: She peers at you. 6:51:06 PM Joe: The Master, I suppose. I am sorry I woke you up. 6:52:01 PM Chance: Sofia: Why? And you messed up my spells. 6:52:04 PM Chance: She pouts. 6:52:36 PM Joe: Because you deserve better. 6:58:05 PM Joe: ... also, I did wish to apologize for hurting you earlier. I did not realize you weren't acting entirely of your own volition. 7:00:49 PM Chance: Sofia: ... you're very nice. IT's okay. It didn't really hurt. 7:02:30 PM Joe: You must at least allow me to purchase you a new gown. 7:02:57 PM Chance: Sofia: ... okay. 7:03:01 PM Chance: Gimme a roll! 7:04:09 PM Joe: ((7!)) 7:05:00 PM Chance: You sense a presence from somewhere below you, something powerful and dark, awakening! 7:06:01 PM Joe: ... he's awake. Damn! 7:06:24 PM Chance: Sofia looks sad. "Yes. Sorry." 7:06:32 PM Chance: Gimme another roll. 7:06:49 PM Joe: ((2. Oh dear.)) 7:06:56 PM Joe: It's not your fault. 7:14:51 PM Chance: She nods, sadly, and stares into your eyes, and it's suddenly very easy to know why she was able to enslave a dragon -- she's very powerful, and her hypnotic powers are pretty potent. "... I'm sorry because I have to take you to him and that's easier to do if you do whatever I say." You'll get a chance to break free, but for now, you're quite hypnotized. 7:15:25 PM Joe: I wanted to go to him anyway, Miss Sofia. 7:16:57 PM Chance: Sofia giggles. "I'm supposed to turn anyone who trespasses into a vampire, you know." 7:18:29 PM Joe: You could certainly try, if you liked. 7:19:06 PM Chance: She crooks a finger and starts down the hallway. "ARe you alone?" 7:20:23 PM Joe: More so than I would like, unfortunately. 7:22:16 PM Chance: Sofia: What about your friend from the train, the other one who was awake, is he here? 7:23:04 PM Chance: You can gimme a roll. 7:24:31 PM Joe: ((8! Swapped dice rollers.)) 7:26:12 PM Chance: You manage to crawl out your brain out from under her spell. She has a lot of power, but not a lot of finesse -- she hypnotized you just by steamrollering you, but steamrollers are easy to dodge when you see them coming. You're free, and she doesn't realize it. 7:27:28 PM Joe: No, I left him behind. I always do seem to be the wrong sex some of the time. 7:28:30 PM Chance: Sofia stops, suddenly, and spins on you. "... what about my dragon? You promised to bring her back." 7:29:18 PM Joe: She was still healing when I left. And eating. A lot. 7:30:19 PM Joe: We will go and get her together. 7:35:58 PM Chance: Sofia pouts. "She was my friend. I hope the Master doesn't eat you." 7:36:40 PM Joe: ((BRB!)) 7:43:18 PM Joe: ((Back!)) 7:43:36 PM Joe: I'm certain he won't. I am very ornamental. 7:48:41 PM Joe: And useful in ... certain other ways, as well. 7:51:18 PM Chance: She blinks at you. "How?" 7:51:42 PM Joe: I'm very agreeable in certain ways. 7:53:48 PM Chance: SHe cocks her head. She doesn't seem to get it. 7:54:30 PM Joe: ... seducing people, I suppose you might say. 7:55:14 PM Joe: I prefer to think I just really like people. 7:55:48 PM Chance: She's still walking you down the hallway! 7:59:39 PM Chance: IF you are going to try anything, now's the time! 8:02:06 PM *** Joe tries to sleep her. *** 8:02:19 PM Joe: ((3. sigh)) 8:02:41 PM Chance: It does not work, but she doesn't seem to notice. 8:07:04 PM *** Joe tries again! *** 8:07:11 PM Joe: ((9!)) 8:10:13 PM Chance: Musch better! You can easily get into her head. 8:10:33 PM *** Joe knocks her out, and tries to do it for a good long time. *** 8:12:44 PM Chance: She will sleep until you wake her! 8:15:39 PM *** Joe flees downstairs to try to find the Master and her two friends! *** 8:17:49 PM Chance: Well, Sofia was leading you down the hall, which is magicked longer and winding, and it's not just an illusion. 8:20:06 PM *** Joe tries to find a way down! *** 8:20:42 PM Chance: Down where? Yo'ure on the top floor of the house. Are you trying to go back the way you came? That's easy. 8:23:55 PM *** Joe does try! *** 8:24:06 PM Chance: You're back at the stairs! 8:24:36 PM Chance: Going down the hallway is more challenging than leaving it. 8:26:43 PM *** Joe heads downstairs and keeps an eye out for her boys. *** 8:29:06 PM Chance: You don't see them! 8:31:31 PM *** Joe looks for a door to a basement! *** 8:43:05 PM Chance: GImme a roll! 8:44:18 PM Joe: ((2. What is WITH all the 2s.)) 8:45:04 PM Chance: oddly, you don't find one! You look in all the normal places for such a door... kitchen, downstairs hallway. YOu find it all magnificiently appointed, but there's no pasement door. 8:46:35 PM *** Joe checks for magic concealment! *** 8:51:07 PM Chance: There is definitely magicaly concealment, but you'll have to roll to determine its source. 8:51:19 PM Joe: ((5.)) 8:51:58 PM Chance: Somewhere in the kitchen! 8:52:43 PM *** Joe goes in there and looks around again! *** 8:54:48 PM Chance: The cupboards are full of bottles of what look like wine but probably aren't! 8:57:09 PM *** Joe tries to pull apart the illusion! *** 8:57:19 PM Joe: ((7!)) 8:59:58 PM Chance: You pull it apart, and a door is revealed in the place of one of them empty china cabinets! 9:02:06 PM *** Joe checks it for magic and traps! *** 9:03:33 PM Joe: ((9!)) 9:03:56 PM Chance: Nothing! IT's clean, you suspect any wards were in the illusion. 9:04:11 PM *** Joe opens it and heads quietly down the steps. *** 9:04:20 PM *** Joe is sure to listen to what's going on if she hears any noises. *** 9:04:55 PM Chance: There's a feeling of vertigo as the stairs stretch down into the darkness out of your vision. 9:07:32 PM *** Joe determinedly keeps heading down the steps! *** 9:08:07 PM Chance: You think it's a special compression spell like there was upstairs. 9:08:45 PM *** Joe hurries! *** 9:13:07 PM Chance: The stairs go around a corner, and as you turn the corner, you're suddenly standing on the stairs high above a vast tundra! 9:14:05 PM *** Joe decides this is an illusion, and closes her eyes and keeps trying to step forward. *** 9:14:42 PM Chance: GImme a roll! 9:15:12 PM Joe: ((3. Sheesh she's unlucky tonight.)) 9:15:58 PM Chance: You make your way slowly but surely down the stairs with your eyes closed! It's very easy to get distracted by the icy breeze. 9:16:33 PM Chance: Eventually, carefully moving with your eyes closed, the breeze stops, like it's blocked by something. 9:18:21 PM *** Joe opens her eyes. *** 9:19:32 PM | Edited 9:19:42 PM Chance: You're back on the normal staircase! Before long, you're on the basement floor. This is a banquet room, not a basement, as you look around. Very gaudy and ostentiatious like the rest of the house. 9:19:57 PM *** Joe hurries to the next room, still listening hard. *** 9:20:33 PM Chance: You move through the banquet hall, and you think you can hear a harpsichord. 9:21:20 PM *** Joe hurries in that direction. *** 9:29:11 PM Chance: You got through, and you find a cruelly handsome man in very nice clothes, that are unfashionably old, but in such a way that they're fashionable. 9:29:47 PM Joe: Oh, hello! You must be "the Master." 9:39:54 PM Chance: Master: No one can pronounce my name, so I decided to stop bothering a few decades ago. 9:40:18 PM Chance: MAster: The only people I have contact with are my thralls, after all. 9:41:21 PM Joe: Why? 9:42:04 PM Chance: How close would you say she's standing to him? You're currently in a sitting room, well appointed with comfortable chairs, bookcases full of books. 9:42:29 PM *** Joe is probably 10 feet away. Convenient talking distance, inconvenient grabbing distance. *** 9:42:45 PM Chance: Gimme a roll. 9:43:04 PM Joe: ((6.)) 9:44:07 PM Chance: He's got an aura. He's radiating supernatural charisma, but your telepathy provides a powerful buffer. There's something else to the aura too, but you can't tell without investigating in a more focused way. 9:44:32 PM Chance: Which would require letting your guard down. 9:45:04 PM *** Joe doesn't. *** 9:45:28 PM Joe: It sounds lonely to me. 9:46:02 PM Chance: ANyway, he radiates an aura and now that you're aware of it, there's danger of it affecting you. 9:46:23 PM Chance: Master: Loneliness isn't an issue for me anymore. 9:47:38 PM Joe: Isn't it? Having a lot of minions who all have to do what you want, with no free will? 9:52:08 PM Chance: MasteR: I haven't felt loneliness since 1860. 9:53:23 PM Joe: Why not? 9:55:37 PM Chance: Master: I willed it so. I crushed it, so I wouldn't feel it. 9:55:48 PM Joe: Oh, repression. Are you British too? 10:03:41 PM Chance: Master: Not repression. Obliteration of parts of me I did not need. 10:04:01 PM Joe: I'm afraid I've come here to kill you. 10:04:17 PM *** Joe gets her sword ready! *** 10:05:42 PM Chance: Master: I rather gathered that. 10:07:53 PM Chance: Master: Are you saying there's no part of you that you wish you didn't have to deal with anymore? 10:08:08 PM Joe: Of course there are. 10:08:21 PM Joe: But if I got rid of them, I wouldn't be me anymore. 10:08:56 PM Chance: Master: Are you sure? Or would be simply a better version of yourself? 10:09:57 PM Joe: It would be lovely to think that, but it isn't true. 10:13:15 PM *** Joe attacks! *** 10:13:43 PM Chance: Master: That is the reasoning of someone afraid or unwilling to put in the work to change who they are. 10:13:47 PM Chance: Gimme a roll! 10:14:08 PM Joe: ((8!)) 10:19:55 PM Chance: What kind of attack are you doing? 10:21:01 PM *** Joe is slashing at his neck, although she does not really expect it to land. *** 10:21:20 PM *** Joe goes straight for the neck. Maybe Sofia should have vamped her after all. ;) *** 10:24:23 PM Chance: You chop his head clean off. 10:24:38 PM Chance: It goes flying! 10:24:56 PM *** Joe blinks. *** 10:25:03 PM Joe: ... I didn't expect it to be that easy. 10:25:24 PM Chance: It's not! The body continues playing the harpsichord. 10:26:24 PM Joe: ... oh. Well, that's disturbing. 10:26:34 PM *** Joe finds a piece of furniture she can smash to make a stake. *** 10:36:41 PM Chance: There's plenty of it! 6:47:08 PM *** Joe smashes a piece of furniture and looks for a stake! *** 6:48:19 PM Chance: You find his head, looking at you, sitting on the floor. "... that seemed unnessarily violent. 6:48:55 PM Joe: How are you still alive? That's very disturbing. 6:52:27 PM Chance: MasteR: Then you shouldn't have beheaded me! 6:52:49 PM Joe: You shouldn't have stayed alive! 6:52:57 PM *** Joe stakes the heart of the body, or certainly tries. *** 6:56:27 PM Chance: GImme a roll! 6:57:23 PM Joe: ((10!!)) 6:59:14 PM Chance: He tries to force his way into your head, not to hypnotize you but for something else, but you resist him, and drive the stake through his heart. Or where it should be. His body keeps playing the harpsichord with a stake through it. 6:59:59 PM *** Joe blinks, and tries setting him on fire. Also lights a cigarette. *** 7:00:31 PM Chance: Oh, using magic? 7:00:44 PM Joe: ((Yeah.)) 7:08:01 PM Chance: Okay! Give me a roll. 7:09:17 PM Joe: ((6!)) 7:10:10 PM Chance: His hair catches, and he starts burning, slowly -- his aura seems to baffle your magic, somewhat. 7:12:57 PM Chance: MAster: ... I say, this seems rude. Please don't do that. 7:13:26 PM *** Joe smokes her cigarette. *** 7:13:35 PM Joe: Then how can I kill you? 7:14:29 PM Chance: Master: Perhaps we should talk about why you want to kill me? 7:14:40 PM Joe: I don't like you. 7:17:42 PM Chance: Master: Why? 7:18:11 PM Chance: Master: Not that I expect you to like me. 7:18:17 PM Joe: Sofia sleeps on the floor. Also, you tried to steal a friend of mine. 7:18:18 PM Chance: Master: But this seems... personal. 7:19:20 PM Chance: Master: ... I see. You saw through the illusions on her room? 7:19:31 PM Joe: Yes. 7:20:19 PM Chance: His skin is starting to burn now. 7:20:27 PM Chance: He seems very calm, though. 7:24:05 PM *** Joe frets a bit, waiting for the boys. *** 7:25:25 PM Chance: He looks around the room and the illusions fall away, revealing that the whole house is in a similar state. 7:25:50 PM Joe: Why did you try to kidnap Francisco? 7:26:45 PM Chance: Master: ... Francisco? 7:26:55 PM Joe: The spellbook. 7:28:40 PM Chance: Master: Oh, from the train? It contains a complete casting of the Montesi Formula. 7:28:57 PM Joe: Which you want, because? 7:29:15 PM Chance: Master: That seems rather personal. 7:29:30 PM Chance: His skin is starting to char disturbingly. 7:29:43 PM Chance: The body has stopped playing the harpsichord. 7:30:32 PM Joe: More personal than trying to kill you? 7:30:56 PM Chance: Master: You won't, though. 7:31:06 PM Joe: Why wouldn't I? 7:31:19 PM Chance: Master: ... more to the point, you can't. 7:31:26 PM Joe: Why can't I? 7:31:38 PM Chance: He's down to a flaming skull now. 7:31:51 PM Chance: Master: Nothing can. 7:32:31 PM Joe: Everything dies eventually. Even demons and fae. 7:33:43 PM Chance: Master: I made a mistake, a long time ago. 7:34:24 PM Chance: Master: I told you about how I learned how to destroy certain parts of myself. 7:34:49 PM Chance: Master: One drunken evening, I killed my mortality. 7:35:08 PM Joe: ... oh dear. 7:35:13 PM Joe: You see, I told you it wasn't a good idea. 7:35:30 PM *** Joe takes a drag of her cigarette. *** 7:35:43 PM Chance: Master: You weren't wrong. 7:36:29 PM Chance: Theo comes through the door, as if falling. He skids across the floor as gravity reasserts itself for him. 7:36:50 PM Joe: Mr. Crafter! How good of you to join us. Have you seen Cas anywhere about? 7:37:46 PM Chance: Theo stands up. "We were separated after we fell into the dimensional maze." 7:38:12 PM Joe: There was a dimensional maze? 7:38:48 PM Joe: I wonder if we can kill your immortality. 7:39:36 PM Chance: Theo: Yes. And *what*? 7:39:51 PM Chance: Master: This is why I wanted the montesi Formula. 7:40:08 PM Chance: Master: To destroy myself. 7:41:18 PM Joe: I didn't think it did that. I thought it simply made vampires able to turn other people into vampires. All kinds of other people. 7:41:41 PM Joe: Well, I'm afraid I've burned him up and he can't actually die. It's a pretty pickle I've put us in. 7:42:01 PM Chance: Master: And to turn a vampire that can't die into a vampire that can. 7:43:04 PM Chance: The body gets up, stiffly, and picks up the smouldering skull. It lifts it up and plops it down on its neck, and his head starts regenerating around the skull. Organs, muscles, then skin, then hair. 7:44:14 PM Joe: If that's what you really want, we can manage that for you. But you would have to let Sofia go. 7:52:17 PM Chance: Master: That can be arranged. She was always going to be freed after my destruction. 7:53:07 PM Joe: That's true. ... what other parts of yourself did you destroy? 7:57:17 PM Chance: Master: Very many, large and small parts. Why? 7:58:50 PM Joe: You seem terribly detached. 8:02:36 PM Chance: Master: That seems a consequence of long life. 8:03:06 PM Joe: You didn't kill any of your other emotions? 8:07:36 PM Chance: Master: Oh, of course. Those likely to be inconvenient. Hate, I dont' think I hate anyone anymore. Anger can be motivating, I kept that. 8:08:15 PM Joe: What about love, attraction, enjoyment? You must still enjoy things. 8:17:47 PM Chance: Master: Oh, of course. I love my music, and take satisfaction in it. 8:20:00 PM Joe: What about Sofia? 8:20:05 PM Chance: Master: I had no wish to make myself an automaton. 8:21:13 PM Chance: Master: Sofia came to me for reasons of her own, and asked to be made a vampire. 8:21:32 PM Chance: Master: I could see the usefulness of an assistant. 8:23:12 PM Joe: But you don't care about her much. Well, I suppose it doesn't matter. 8:23:22 PM Joe: I think we ought to help him, don't you, Mr. Crafter? 8:28:05 PM Chance: Theo: ... it certainly seems to be easier than killing him. Or... the same, at least. 8:29:26 PM Joe: Yes, exactly. 8:29:42 PM Joe: ... where is Cas? 8:29:59 PM Chance: The vampire closes his eyes, and Cas appears! 8:30:20 PM Chance: HE looks a bit harried! But untouched, generally. 8:31:11 PM Joe: Cas! Are you all right? 8:33:34 PM Chance: Casper looks around the now dilapidated basement. ".... I don't know if this is better than the desert I was just in." 8:34:23 PM Joe: This is Sofia's Master. We're going to help him. 8:37:54 PM Chance: Casper: ... why? 8:39:07 PM Chance: (Brb) 8:39:41 PM Joe: He wants to be able to die. 8:41:47 PM Chance: (Back) 8:42:11 PM Chance: Casper: .... okay? So why don't we kill him? I thought that's why we're here? 8:43:30 PM Joe: Oh, I tried. I cut off his head, staked his heart and burned him. 8:47:47 PM Joe: Clearly it did not take. 8:48:02 PM *** Joe puts out the butt of her cigarette and stomps it out, carefully. *** 8:48:05 PM Chance: Master: Not terribly pleasant. 8:48:20 PM Joe: Well I didn't know you were on our side. 7:13:04 PM Chance: Master: I'm not. 7:13:42 PM Joe: No? You want to die, we want to kill you. 7:16:51 PM Chance: Master: Oh. I suppose that's true. 7:17:27 PM Joe: Are you not on our side in some other way? 7:23:14 PM Chance: Master: Very many, I should think. But I do wish to end my existence. 7:27:27 PM Joe: Are you sure you don't just want to... be the way you were before? 7:29:32 PM Chance: Master: I have given it some thought. I keep wavering between the two options. I suppose I shan't know what I will do until it comes to it. 7:33:38 PM Joe: What sort of person were you? 7:35:52 PM Chance: Master: Smart, handsome, charming. What an odd question! 7:39:38 PM Joe: What did you think you were like at the time? 7:41:34 PM Chance: Master: That is a rather difficult question to answer, I should think. It has been some time, after all. 7:44:38 PM Joe: Understandable. 7:49:28 PM Chance: Master: In any case, I require the spell. 7:49:46 PM Joe: Yes. And we require Sofia. 8:02:44 PM Chance: Master: We are agreed then. I will release Sofia from my thrall. Do be careful, though. She is... quite powerful, and can be capricious. 8:04:30 PM Joe: She's got a mind like spun steel cables. I admire her. 8:06:33 PM Chance: Master: She is formidable. 8:07:12 PM Joe: Indeed. 8:07:32 PM Joe: Well. We shall just go and wake her up. 8:10:30 PM Chance: Sofia: I'm right here, silly. 8:10:39 PM Chance: She appears! 8:11:33 PM *** Joe jumps. *** 8:12:09 PM Chance: She yawns. "Master woke me up when you came down here." 8:12:16 PM Chance: Sofia: What did I miss? 8:14:05 PM Joe: He's letting us go. 8:14:18 PM Joe: And ... well, I'd like you to come with us, if you're willing. 8:15:51 PM Chance: Sofia blinks,a nd looks at the Master. "But." 8:18:40 PM Joe: You don't have to stay. 8:18:59 PM Joe: And you don't have to go with us, either. 8:23:47 PM Chance: She looks at you, and Caspar, and Theo. 8:25:27 PM Joe: I want to buy you a new dress. Possibly more than that. This is Mr. Prometheus Crafter, an American caster with a very interesting gun, and this is Mr. Casper Quentin, a British caster who can create ice out of nothing. 8:26:16 PM Chance: Sofia: Noooooo, he's a dragon. 8:26:22 PM Chance: She points at Theo. 8:26:38 PM Joe: Well, I didn't say he wasn't. 8:31:22 PM Chance: Sofia squints at you, then starts giggling. 8:33:22 PM Joe: What's so funny? 8:36:00 PM | Edited 8:36:19 PM Chance: Sofia: You said that thing you just said when you meant you, too. 8:36:55 PM Joe: ... I don't follow. What? 8:39:18 PM Chance: She smiles toothily! "My English isn't so good sometimes. But. You're both things you're not at the same time you are." 8:40:34 PM Joe: That's rather a good way to put that. 8:41:29 PM Chance: Sofia: I'm very smart. 8:43:09 PM Joe: I rather think you are. 8:43:17 PM *** Joe offers her her arm. *** 8:44:22 PM Chance: She looks at it as if she's never seen an arm before. Gimme a roll! 8:47:00 PM Joe: ((5!)) 8:47:56 PM Chance: There's a blur of motion and then your arm is in her hands and she's biting it. 8:52:35 PM Joe: I, er... all right... 8:55:25 PM Chance: Gimme another roll! 8:58:14 PM Joe: ((5 again.)) 8:59:39 PM Chance: She lets go before you feel faint, and daintily dabs the side of her mouth with her pinky. ""Thank you! I wasn't hungry, but it's rude to turn down hospitality." 9:00:55 PM Joe: That's very kind of you. Will you come with us, Miss? 9:04:09 PM Chance: She looks back at the Master, whose eyes glow! her eyes glow the same color for a moment and she blinks. 9:04:50 PM Chance: Master: IT is your choice, Sofia. One way or another, I will not be around much longer. I set you free -- the decision is yours. 9:08:17 PM Chance: Sofia looks at him, and you, and him, and you, then hugs you. Very tightly. With supernatural strength. "Thank you, Bruxo." 9:09:11 PM Chance: THe Master nods, and sits back down at his harpsichord. "I shall wait here for you to fulfill your part of the agreement." 9:09:14 PM Joe: Ngh. 9:09:31 PM Joe: All right. Try not to brood. 9:11:25 PM Chance: Master: quite impossible. I'm a vampire that can't die in an old empty house with a harpsichord. 9:11:39 PM Chance: And he starts playng! Theo winces, and leaves up the stairs first. 9:12:16 PM Joe: Go out and go dancing. You might enjoy it. 9:22:17 PM *** Joe follows Theo. ***